Police brought dogs, horses and highway patrol cars to Geelong’s troubled Little Malop St mall on Tuesday to launch an “ongoing” operation.
The “police presence” operation follows A Current Affair labelling the mall “one of Australia’s nastiest” in a TV segment featuring multiple brawls earlier this month.
Locals had been “feeling unsafe” following “recent media reporting”, according to Geelong Acting Sergeant Jaime Gillard.
“We’re certainly responding to the community’s concerns about this area,” she said.
“We’re just really, really making sure the community feel safe and included when they’re in this area.”
Police would maintain a “visible presence” in the CBD during Operation Safeguard Geelong, while mounted officers would “be here on many occasions”, Sgt Gillard said.
“We’re using a lot of resources.”
But Sgt Gillard declined to state if the operation would involve a permanent police presence in the mall.
“At this point in time it’s going to be an ongoing initiative, something that we’re going to be seeing for months to come,” she said.
Sgt Gillard said Geelong police had always had a strong presence in the mall, a long-time trouble hotspot.
Officers also closely monitored CCTV feeds and often responded to incidents there before someone phoned triple zero, she said.
Operation Safeguard Geelong would target anti-social behaviour, drugs, crimes against the person and property and weapons offences, Sgt Gillard said.
Geelong Inspector Paul Edebone said uniformed and undercover foot patrols would increase in the CBD during the operation with support from Highway Patrol and Transit Safety Division.
Police would bring together “a number of smaller operations” using the combined “resources to saturate key hotspots”, he said.
The operation follows calls from the Victoria’s opposition for a permanent police presence in the mall.
Council last week ordered a report, due by August, into initiatives to improve the mall by 15 December.
But 58 per cent of respondents in an Indy poll last week voted to demolish the mall or replace it with car parks.
Former Geelong mayor and CBD trader Hayden Spurling, who oversaw the mall’s opening, told the Indy last week it needed to be “reopened”.
Geelong developer Bill Votsaris instead called for the spreading bus shelters would help make Moorabool St a “premier” shopping strip with flow on effects for the mall.
